Driving force of an Atheist

[leo-rcc]

You know what's funny?

You're the fastest sperm.

You won.

I hope you are not going to quote Kassie Dill.

[The_Flying_Skeptic]

damn. i was so confused reading your post. i just skimmed through it (sorry) and read the question at the end. i read it wrong at first as thought you wrote 'how do you get over humping?'

just to throw in my statistic, i agree some said here on other posts. We accept reality as an atheist or as metaphysical naturalists (being an atheist does not necessarily exclude the belief of an afterlife). Very important: there are definitely atheists in the world that believe in the after life. yeah. However, Metaphysical Naturalists, Materialists or whatever you want to call them i guess, do not believe in an afterlife and accept nothing further than death as a termination of consciousness for good. so i choose to enjoy life as much as I can, appreciating the little things as in the movie Zombie Land because we only live for a tiny tiny fraction of the history of human kind. There's no sense in worrying about what you said or what you did wrong yesterday... Should I have said hello to that girl? Should I try out for the competition? Just do it because we are on a tiny planet on the arm of a galaxy and it doesn't matter what you do as long as you're having a good time and not jeopardizing the happiness of other people around you (which leads to unhappiness unless you're a psychopath i guess)

[Meatball]

I seriously struggle with this every day. As of late I've been leaning towards nihilist thoughts often.

It all seems like a big waste of time sometimes. Like it's some cruel joke that people spend nearly half of their time on earth working to buy shit and sleeping to recover from working. We do this until they are too old to work and then we die. The people we know mourn us for a while and then we become a footnote in their lives until they kick the bucket.

Fuck it I'm going to live in a commune.

[tavarish]

I seriously struggle with this every day. As of late I've been leaning towards nihilist thoughts often.

It all seems like a big waste of time sometimes. Like it's some cruel joke that people spend nearly half of their time on earth working to buy shit and sleeping to recover from working. We do this until they are too old to work and then we die. The people we know mourn us for a while and then we become a footnote in their lives until they kick the bucket.

Fuck it I'm going to live in a commune.

My driving force is to escape mediocrity at all costs.

[Craveman]

I'd like to make a point that I normally don't carry such depressive thoughts, actually I'm a pretty happy guy naturally, but this question is really pressing into me. The only answer I could really fathom is to make strides in life in hopes of making a difference in further generations.. but of course that clashes with the thought of "Well my life meter is going to reach 0 someday, so why not just do what I want?" Within federal laws of course.

So I ask you, how did you get over this hump?

How about trying to think about it from a different perspective. Try not to think of what you will be remebered for but rather the impact that you are making (made or could make) in people's lives. We don't always realise it but people will remember us for simple acts of kindness. I think the here and now is very important.

[theblindferrengi]

I dont see the problem...

You have life. You have wants and intrests. So pick the thing you most want and work towards it.

If you look at your own life from the third person like that, if you look at your like as a single unit, then it is pointless, because you are thinking in terms of 'how did my life change the world', and you look insignificant.

Your life is all about you, it is not about anyone else, so you should look at your life in the first person. "How has my life changed me?" is the question.

[Dotard]

How to live on and be famous;


[youtube]HxNiOK_-hrs[/youtube]

[Rhizomorph13]

Maybe a homeopathic remedy could be made from loser tears that could make you famous? After all, if like cures like then loser tears diluted down to 100x should be a powerful remedy for success!

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

So I ask you, how did you get over this hump?

I'm not sure an introspective person can completely. To be aware of one's mortality and to fear death is by no means an atheist monopoly. I think it's healthy. An obsession with death is not healthy,and clinical help may be needed to overcome such an obsession..

Your struggle seems to be learn to more 'now centred' and to drop some ideas about success and the value of one's life. Those things have nothing to do with atheism.

ME? Today I'm retired. I have everything I need,and most things I want. I am content. I appreciate and enjoy life (this second I'm enjoying this) I'm afraid of dying.(all mammals are,it's a hard wired survival mechanism) but do not fear being dead, just as I have no fear of the aeons I did not exist.

I am important to me and a handful of other people.Once the last person who knew me dies, it will be as if I never existed. It is thus for most human beings. This bothers me not all. What matters is I exist right now.


The point of life is that it ends (Franz Kafka)

[TruthWorthy]

I think you're thinking too far ahead. I mean what is the point in thinking about your accomplishments from that point? I think the reason many atheists work toward the future in positive ways and giving up luxuries of doing what they want comes from instictual idealologies. For one, any good parent wants their child to have a good future and be capable of raising their your grandchildren, and so on. I assume that past generations who failed to accomplish this act would likely fade out of the gene pool through natural selection.
On the other hand the worlds changing. I wonder if you're trying to evaluate the direction society's heading (ie. not giving a crap in general) and in turn maybe finding the urge to demonstrate this to them??
In my opinion there is the very real chance that you will be "around" after your time . . .